Eclectic Afrocentricity?
Saturday, June 9, 2007 at 01:50PM I know by now some of you peeps, particularly, those of you that are pro-black, AmeriKKKa-hating, separatists in denial feel like you’ve been horn swaggled, bamboozled, hoodwinked 
after hitting up my blog - expecting to read musings on hip hop, Al Sharpton, video vixens, Russel Simmons, and other issues that are supposed to be central focus of what’s on the minds of peeps in the black community. I’m sure when you saw the subtitle “Eclectic Afrocentricity” You thought you were going to see a plethora of BLACK journal entries ranging from everything that is BLACK to everything that is related to BLACK - BLACK politics, BLACK business, BLACK education, BLACK greek life, BLACK movies, BLACK models, BLACK actors and actresses - BLACK, BLACK, BLACK. The truth is those topics get trampled all over in newspapers, magazines, cable T.V. shows, movies and a host of other forms of interaction. That’s not what my blog is for. If that’s what you were looking for I suggest you surf your way to the millions of other black blogs out there that cater to blackness.
I’ve surfed quite a few blogs out there in a very short amount of time. There are two particular blogs out there that I feel are excellent examples of the black Diaspora and the world as seen through a black individual’s eyes. One particular blog I lean towards as it’s focus being the world as it’s seen through a black man’s eyes, whom happens to be black is the brother I showcased earlier: Zen Sakai I. His blog is absent of the type of afrocentricity the typical black person has come to identify with as black authenticity. His topics are more cerebral and laden with self exploration and atonement. On the other side of 
the pendulum you have a blog called Eclectik - Relaxation.com. This brother’s blog, Eclectik, is inandated with afrocentricity. You open a window to his blog and you’re welcomed by tracks of rap music of an East coast flavor. The background on his blog is a palette of rich brown hues and the titles are a variety of red, yellow and green earth tone colors. He has dozens of images of beautiful dimepiece sisters and black art and topics that are of a safe pop culture-type nature. Both blogs are hellified, mad cool blogs, which is why I have links to them posted on my blog. However, my focus is quite different from them both.
It’s quite obvious if you’ve even spent a few minutes scanning through my blog that I’ve never played it safe in my life. I believe in speaking my mind - bottom line. I make a conscious effort to talk about issues on my blog that you don’t usually run into on anyone else’s blog. Yes, my journal entries are challenging to read because they’re all long and indepth but how am I to truly express myself if my blog reflected the same essence as everyone else’s? It’s interesting how the number of my subscribers fluctuates from journal entry to journal entry. When I post more afrocentric topics such as A Sista in Tokyo, Eddie Murphy, Steve Harvey, and Bill Cosby I get shitloads of hits - no comments but shitloads of hits. However, when I drop topics like Double Jeopardy, Chinese Chasm, Agenda for Technology, and Educational v.s. Corporate World my subscribers drop off the map. One particular journal entry of mine, Teri, is one of the most popular entries I’ve made on this entire blog whereas any of the entries where I talked about my past romance 
with a white girl caused my subscriptions to drop drastically only after a few hits. What does that tell me? I have a shitload of sisters sliding in and out of here.
A friend of my that posts comments on here on a regular basis wondered if he was the only person that even read this blog. Well, to date, I’ve had over 2100 hits and this blog is only two months old. Whereas, I’ve visited other blogs that had been in existence for over two years and are just reaching the 2500 mark yet there’s much more interaction on those blogs. My audience is an unusual one - they’re a bunch of lurkers. Perhaps it’s because of the demographic that Squarespace attracts. It seems from what I read of the reviews of Squarespace a lot of political analysts, entrepreneurs, politicians and other corporate-minded people use this platform. When people like that hit a blog like mine it’s like a car crash to them. They rubberneck as they drive by but don’t stop to say anything.
Check this out: Perhaps if some of you rubbernecking suckers would stop for a minute and drop a comment instead of looking at my entries a thousand times each and tell me what’s up I may even focus in a direction that’s more appealing to you, my audience. Until then I’m going to go in my own direction - write and post what crosses my mind. Oh and don’t trip - In case some of you don’t know I have the ability to not only track who hits this blog I know where you came from before you hit this blog and where you went after you leave this blog. I know exactly who you are all the way down to the kind of computer you use, whether you’re 
broadband or dial-up, the whole nine yards, so some of you suckers that will sit on this blog and hit one journal entry nine times but you don’t drop any comments are suspect.
So why do I write about these strange and different topics? Because I’m different. I’m an individual. I’m that dude that will go to a packed house party and go outside to the deck and drink a Corona. Every now and then I like to drive past Burger King, McDonald’s and the RIb Shack and eat some sushi, Chicken Tikka Masala or Kabab Koobideh. House parties and card games are cool sometimes but I don’t like to stay couped up inside all the time. I like to go swimming and not just at the community swimming pool - I like to go to the ocean and do some deep sea freediving. Walking in a local park is cool but sometimes I like to go hiking and mountain biking deep in the woods - off the beaten path away from civilization. The same eclectic taste I have for life is the same type of taste I reflect here on this blog.
Reader Comments (4)
HAhah, as always telling it like you see it.
You may piss some folks off, but you are for sure your own person. We need more people of color living life as they see it and feel it not by some label or someones idea of what they are, or should be. I'm not talking about lving/doing gangsta crap that brings you, your family, your community down, but walking your own path, with honor and treating others the same way with respect to all things and people. At least until they as an individual show you they do not deserve it.
It is easy to follow the crowd...anyone can do that.
Thats what makes this a good blog, it is out of the box.
I guess you want the lurkers to come out so here goes.
I'm not looking for a confrontation but
Do you hate the sisters? I've read some comments that you left at Sister in Toyoko's blog and while there is some truth in them, at times you come across as a bit mean.
I don't come across as mean I just come across as real. I don't sugarcoat or taylor my comments to fit people's nice little idea of what they want to hear. I just tell the truth - take it or leave it. You don't learn shit from staying in your comfort zone. The truth hurts but that pain from learning the truth wakes up the curiosity, the inquizitiveness in people.
Ok, thanks for answering.